look too laid back and might let romney, who can be ferocious in these things, as we saw in the newt gingrich debate. but there's so much damage to undo about himself for romney before he gets to obama. the 47% comment and the whole image of somebody who doesn't care about the middle class and only the rich. he has to use the debate to repair that and only then can he pivot to obama, which is why he needs a long strategy. >> the last point is right. it's a difficult match between the venue, the medium in that debate and what he needs to accomplish, which is about seeming like a guy who cares about the middle class. there's ways to do that in ads and staging and all sorts of other things. hard when you're standing next to the president. but that's the distance he needs to to go. e.j.dionne, great to have you here. >> nice to see you. >>> it's political debate season to be sure. massachusetts senator scott brown and elizabeth warren just completed their second televised debate. you might recall the first one. let's see if senator brown's, but she doesn't look native american card is the only on